Sunday, December 5, 2010

Many gay activists argue that gay is not a privilege. Therefore it should not be inflicted upon with laws or regulations in the public sphere. However it is necessary to define what the public sphere is and where the line between the private spheres is drawn. Activist believes that being gay is an identity.Therefore it comes with action, language, dress and other cultural attributes. In being gay, many believe dress attire should be represented of how they identify. A gay male who is also a cross dresser, may find it necessary to wear what is commonly thought of as women attire. In a college setting, these laws were imposed upon causing a lot of debate and public attention. It is only when the LBGQTI are fighting for common rights that the media and heterosexual powers of authority get involved.

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At More house college Dr. William Bynum, Vice President for Student Services, issued a ban on clothing. He felt that it disturbed the learning environment and other student’s professional space. He attributed the ban on clothing specifically to five gay students of Morehouse who cross-dress. Many in the student body felt that this was very obvious because only five students who attend actually cross dressed. The vice president felt that the gay lifestyles they live are not appropriate in relation to the mission of Morehouse and how Morehouse men should live.

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Ultimately the rule was passed and did not interfere with constitutional rights because Morehouse is a private institution. In both the homo/hetero sexual community the debate is split and leads up to two main questions. That is to ask if it is appropriate to mix your “personal life” in a professional setting. A lot of people believe that college is a professional setting and that men dressing as women undermine the professional atomosphere of college. The last question at hand is rather it is appropriate for a gay male to attend an all men’s college. Many feel that it is arbitrary and should be of little interest to gay men. This attitude also leads up to the assumption that a gay man attending an all men’s school does so in hope of per suiting possible relations.

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I believe this issue shows how divided and bias the world is when it comes to gay issues. We as activist and non-activist are still unsure of how to treat people. Right of equality should extend to all. In reality, deeming cross dressing to be distracting is very opinionated. There is a lot of clothing that can be seen as distracting. I believe we all should take a step back and consider the rubric we have sat in society. Some things should be left out of the public sphere. Some of us may still need to examine what we believe.